Best In Show! Emmaline Bowman of STEM Landscape Architecture & Design swept the pool this year with not one but six awards!!!
Emmaline teamed with Liam Riley of ID Landscaping to achieve this amazing result.
Participating in MIFGS is an exhilarating journey, a whirlwind of emotions, and a lot of hard work. The 9 days you get to build the garden is a testament to your relationship with the building crew, individual skills, organisation, and sheer determination. We were so proud when the judges announced our Best in Show, Gold medal win along with 5 other awards.
Our garden wasn’t the ordinary backyard setting, instead portraying an iconic Australian rural landscape, complete with a Comet windmill and two glass observation windows offering glimpses into the pond and soil. The aim was to unveil the concealed ecosystems beneath our feet, shedding light on their pivotal role in sustaining environmental health through healthy water, soil and planted environments.
Using Australian and Indigenous plantings, we aimed to celebrate the diversity and beauty of our native plant species. These plants not only support local biodiversity but also create vital habitats and preserve ecologies within gardens and landscapes, big or small.
Throughout our journey, our garden designs have consistently aimed to foster habitat, promote Australian plant species, and offer an educational message about sustainable landscaping. Considering our changing climate and environmental degradation, we believe there’s a growing interest in conscientious design. We hope to inspire others to join us in this effort.
Words and above photo credits: Emmaline Bowman
Photo credits: Rosemary Ulph
